WORLD ROUNDUPWhy This Venezuelan Election Feels Different | A Complex Balancing Act for Militant Groups | Why Are French Jews Supporting the Far Right?, and more
· Why Are French Jews Supporting the Far Right?
Prominent Jewish figures are publicly entertaining what was once considered unthinkable: voting for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally
· In France’s Rebranded Far Right, Flashes of Antisemitism and Racism Persist
Ahead of French elections, vitriol and innuendo from National Rally candidates amplify doubts about how much the party of Marine Le Pen has truly evolved
· Why This Venezuelan Election Feels Different
The opposition holds a decisive lead in polling—and there’s a real possibility Maduro could leave power
· A Complex Balancing Act for Militant Groups
“Balancing Act: How Militant Groups Manage Strategic and Ideological Resources” examines how militant groups manage trade-offs between logistical needs and ideological commitments
Why Are French Jews Supporting the Far Right? (Robert Zaretsky, Foreign Policy)
Galvanized by Hamas’s massacre of more than 1,000 Israelis last year, followed by the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Israeli military invasion of Gaza, that question looms even larger following the European Parliament election, which was held in France on June 9. When the voting led to an overwhelming victory by the extreme-right National Rally party, President Emmanuel Macron made the disastrous decision to dissolve the National Assembly and schedule new elections less than three weeks later, on June 30.
Most surprising of all, perhaps, is that several prominent French Jews have publicly expressed a willingness to vote for the National Rally (RN)—a party with its roots in the National Front, a group founded by the openly antisemitic politician Jean-Marie Le Pen.
In France’s Rebranded Far Right, Flashes of Antisemitism and Racism Persist (Anthony Faiola and Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post)
French nationalist Marine Le Pen has executed one of the most extraordinary political rebrandings in the Western world. She has transformed the fringe neofascist party founded by her father into a mainstream political force with a shot at winning a majority and naming the next prime minister.
But as she and her deputy, Jordan Bardella, stand on the brink of what could be their greatest electoral triumph, innuendo, conspiracies and vitriol from National Rally candidates and supporters are amplifying doubts about how much a movement originally rooted in antisemitism and racism has truly evolved.
One candidate competing in the first round of the legislative assembly elections on Sunday suggested that a rival party was financed by Jews. Another claimed that some civilizations remain “below bestiality in the chain of evolution.” Yet another blamed a bedbug infestation in France on “the massive arrival from all the countries of Africa.” One more regularly pays tribute to the man who led the Nazi collaborators in World War II-era Vichy France.
Why This Venezuelan Election Feels Different (Catherine Osborn, Foreign Policy)
When Venezuela last held a presidential election, in 2018, key opposition parties boycotted the vote, claiming the race was not free and fair. Incumbent President Nicolás Maduro handily won a second term. (Cont.)
